You Left Some Stars In My Belly
by MCMGM
Summary: Kristen has found a new, strange love. But can she handle it? Jeff Buckley fan fic. R and R PLEASE!
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: You Left Some Stars In My Belly

**Author**: MCMGM

**Characters**: Jeff Buckley, Kristen, various other.

**Rating**: M

**Content**: Language, mild violence, strong sexual content, drug use.

**Disclaimer**: Only own Kristen and any other fictional character. Everyone else owns themselves.

**(A/N)** Based in an AU.

New York City, 1993

The sun started to set, making way for an even hotter night. A young woman paced around her Upper West Side apartment, a phone attached to her ear. She walked past a vanity mirror; pictures of her with family and friends, taped to the corners. 'Kristen and Sandra' was scribbled on one of them in fat, black magic marker.

"No…I have a TON of work to do tonight…I know I haven't but I…Yes but…Yes…No but…Alright alright!" Kristen slammed the phone down in anger. She had been stressed out as it was at work, the last thing she needed was for her best friend to bother her about going out to some stupid club.

Kristen groaned as she rummaged through her closet, trying to find something to wear. It was already close to 7:30 and she was supposed to meet Sandra in an hour. After finding something suitable, she knocked her work papers to the side and sat everything on the bed.

She quickly shed her hot and itchy work suit and jumped into the shower. The warm water felt good on her achy neck and back. It had been a while since she took a minute to really enjoy a shower. Over the last few months, she had been so busy with work. A promotion will do that to you. Kristen got out of the shower and put on her robe, she was towel drying her hair when she caught sight of the clock.

"8:03? Ahh fuck." She sat down in front of her vanity table, and grabbed some make up. She put on some light red eye shadow, which brought out her chocolaty brown eyes. She threw on some clear lip-gloss, which made her lips look fuller.

She slipped into the black dress she had picked out, slid on her boots, grabbed her purse and dashed out of the door. Kristen HATED being late for anything. It was the perfectionist in her. In her haste, she completely forgot to bring her jacket. But as hot as the evening was, she didn't need it.

A few minutes later she stood in front of Sin-e, the place she was suppose to meet Sandra. The neon sign heated up her face. It felt strangely good.

"Hey!" Sandra yelled from behind Kristen.

"Don't do that!" Kristen yelled back at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Kristen just rolled her eyes.

"Are you ready to go in or what?" Sandra asked.

"Might as well." Kristen responded without the least bit of interest. She and Sandra walked to the entrance, flashed their respective and walked in. Sin-e wasn't a very big place. It was a small café, with a few tables and chairs scattered about.

"You dragged me away from my work…for THIS?" Kristen whispered with an unsatisfied raised eyebrow.

"Oh come on, do you have to be negative about everything?" Sandra pushed her into an unoccupied booth and squeezed in.

"Move over!" Kristen yelled as Sandra sat on top of her, slightly. After a few seconds of bitching back and forth, they ordered some drinks.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, what is so special about this place?"

"Why does it have to be special? Why can't you just enjoy yourself?"

"I want to know why you dragged me down here? There better be a good reason for it. I have a shit load of work to do and…"

"Kristen, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

A few patrons turned around and looked at the women. Kristen, wide eyed, attempted to act as if the sudden noise wasn't coming from them. After they looked away, Kristen drew her attention back to Sandra.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"You asked for it, you have been doing nothing but bitching ever since I called you. I can't ever take you anywhere anymore; you never want to hang with me. You used to be my best friend, now you treat me like dirt. That shit sucks, man." Sandra said as she slammed back her tequila shot.

"I…I'm sorry. I have just been so stressed out with tons and tons of work assignments lately. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Friends?"

Sandra thought it over for a minute, but finally gave in. "Friends."

Suddenly a man's booming voice filled the small room

"Oh we're rolling? My goodness. Is there any reverb to roll with? He wants it." the sound tech toyed with a microphone, testing the audio levels.

"And to answer your question, this place has some really kick ass bands."

"Where do they play? There's no room in here."

"There."

"Where?"

"There." Sandra pointed toward a dark area of the room.

"I can't see anything."

Sandra rolled her eyes, "Just wait a second."

Just as Kristen was about to say something else, the sounds of feet stomping and hands clapping became increasingly louder. The patrons slowly started to turn their attention to the sound.

"Be your husband if you'll be my wife. Be your husband if you'll be my wife. Be your husband if you be my wiffeeee. Love and honor you the rest of your life."

Finally a light flickered on in the darkened corner and the person who the voice was coming from could be seen. He wore a white, thin t-shirt. Black pants and boots. Keys hung from his hip, jiggling along with every foot tap. Even sitting down it could be seen that he wasn't very tall. Somewhere in the 5'7'' region. He had dark hair, cut close to his head at the sides and all over the place at the top, as if he had just woken up. He continued to slap at his thighs, his eyes closed, singing the Nina Simone cover.

"Don't you treat me so doggone mean. Please don't treat me so doggone mean. 'Cause you're the meanest woman I've ever seen, well…"

Everyone in the crowd was clapping along by this point, everyone except Kristen. She was too mesmerized by his face to hear anything. Chiseled, gaunt bone structure, pouty red lips, smooth milky skin. This man, whoever he was, was a sight to be seen.

"Hey!" Sandra slapped Kristen in the back of the head. "Pay attention."

"Sandra, if you put your hands on me again, I swear I'm going to…" Kristen was interrupted by the crowd clapping; the first song had come to an end while she was busy fighting with Sandra.

"Thank you." The mysterious man humbly laughed toward the floor. He finally looked up for a second, and Kristen could see his eyes. Those soulfully deep brown eyes. He looked back toward the ground as he introduced himself.

"I'm Jeff, this is my first night playing here. Um, I hope you enjoy some of these tunes." He picked up an acoustic guitar and strapped it on. He leaned into the microphone:

"Another song by somebody else..."

The opening chords to Van Morrison's 'Sweet Thing' filled the room.

Sandra perked up "Oh, I LOVE this song!"

"So do I." Kristen said as she watched him.

"And I will stroll the merry way, and jump the hedges first. And I will drink the clear, clean water for to quench my thirst. And I shall watch the ferry-boats and they'll get high. On a bluer ocean against tomorrow's sky."

Sandra sang along as Kristen sat, entranced by his chanteuse-like voice.

"And I will never, NEVER grow so old again. And WE will walk and talk in gardens wet with rain. OH SWEET THING, SWEET THING."

"My, my, my, my Sweet Thing. Wooo, yeah!" Sandra danced around, drawing Jeff's attention in between verses. When Kristen saw him look at her, her gaze shot down to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Is he still looking over here?"

"No."

Kristen leaned back to discover that Jeff was in fact, still looking over at them. She shot her head down again, and Jeff laughed over the mic.

"Looks like we have a shy one."

Everyone in the place laughed. Kristen punched Sandra in the knee for lying to her and embarrassing her.

"Oww! What the hell did you do that for?"

Kristen got up and headed for the door, with Sandra in hot pursuit. Well, limping pursuit.

"Kris…oow…ten ..where…are…you…oow…going?"

Just as Kristen's hand touched the cool steel of the doorknob, she was stopped by a voice. _His _voice:

"Hey sunshine, where do you think you're going?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: You Left Some Stars In My Belly

**Author**: MCMGM

**Characters**: Jeff Buckley, Kristen, various other.

**Rating**: M

**Content**: Language, mild violence, strong sexual content, drug use.

**Disclaimer**: Only own Kristen and any other fictional character. Everyone else owns themselves.

**(A/N)** Based in an AU.

"Kristen!"

"What?" she snapped.

"I have been calling you for a half hour. The meeting got bumped up to 10, you gotta get up there."

Kristen ran her hand along the length of her face, in a half attempt to wipe away the exhaustion.

"Yeah, OK, I'm coming." she waved away the messenger and gathered up the necessary papers for the meeting.

"Be your husband if you'll be my wife…What am I doing?"

Kristen caught herself singing the first song she heard Jeff sing. She had caught herself doing that numerous times. It had been a week since she saw him at Sin-e. His face was burned into her brain. Every feature, every line, every curve. All still there. She couldn't help but think of him, how captivating he was.

"I don't have time for this." she pushed him out of her head as she got into the elevator and headed into her meeting...

"Hey sunshine, where do you think you're going?"

Kristen's grip on the doorknob was so tight, her Carmel shaded knuckles began to turn bone white. She turned back slowly to look over her shoulder, Jeff was staring at her, a impish smirk hung from his lips. Sandra leaned on the bar and rubbed her knee. The room remained dead silent, waiting for Kristen's response. You could have heard a pin drop.

"My set couldn't have been so bad that you have to leave." Jeff chuckled, but inside he was a bit concerned that he WAS doing a bad set.

Kristen could feel all eyes on her, her grip loosened a little. Just as she was realizing how much she overreacted, and that she should probably sit back down, a bar patron said his peace.

"Hey honey, why don't you go up there and put on a show for us? I'm betting he's got a pole you can swing on!"

Everyone in the place erupted in laughter. Kristen's face turned beat red and she bolted out of the door. Not looking back, not wanting to see Jeff laughing along with them. Sandra chased after her as best she could. And there Jeff sat in a dimly lit corner, head down, not laughing.

"So if we merge with AmeriCorp, our profits will sky rocket!"

All of the suits clapped as Kristen finished her proposal. She put on her best fake smile. She hated her job, the people who came along with it, the layer of slim she felt she had to scrub extra hard to get rid of in the shower. Corporate America was NOT the place for Kristen. Her heart longed for something more.

But until she figured out what that something was, she needed to work. And she was good at this kind of work. Or at least that's what she told herself whenever she questioned why she was doing this crap in the first place.

Kristen walked over to one of the huge glass windows and looked out of it. It was a beautiful late morning in Midtown Manhattan. The sun was high above the city, shining a loving glow over all the buildings.

The Twin Towers looked even taller with the sun beaming off of them that day. It was all like a painting, a calm place for Kristen to escape to. Where she would be appreciated and loved.

The type of place Jeff would go.

Wait, why would she think that? She didn't even know the man. But her heart sure as hell made it feel like she did.

"Hello gorgeous." Kristen's warm thoughts were cut off by the cold, slimy sting of Todd Culver's voice.

"Hello Todd."

Todd was one of Kristen's bosses. The one that was just above her and had control over what she could do and couldn't do at the company. How far she could move up, or move down. He always wanted her for his girlfriend, but Kristen couldn't stand him.

He was the type of man she hated, the CORPORATE man. The 'Yes' man. The one dimensional man. She wanted someone with a free spirit, not a membership to the Yacht Club. Kristen walked to the elevator as fast as her legs would carry her. Slimeball McGee didn't stray far behind.

"So, I was thinking I take you out to dinner tonight, celebrate your proposal getting approved. Seeing as how I was your BIGGEST supporter today."

He said it as if that allowed him free reign for her 'kitchen' whenever he wanted it.

"Gee Todd, I would so LOVE to have dinner with you. But I've made plans with my mother. She's leaving town tomorrow so I can't postpone." Kristen said as she got into the elevator. "But I will take a rain check."

Todd gave her a wink and a cheesy smile as the doors closed. Kristen felt like she was going to be sick. The thought of being that loser's trophy wife made her want to hurl right there. That was it, she decided she needed to leave for the day. Kristen went down to her desk, grabbed some things and headed for the garage.

"Hey, are you OK?" Kammy asked as Kristen walked by. Kammy was Kristen's best buddy at work, a real good girl.

"Yeah, just a little tired. Going to go home and rest." she lied. She had no intention of resting.

After Kristen got home, she shed her slim covered suit and threw on a pair of jeans with cuts at the knees, a Smiths baby doll shirt and a pair of black Converses. She let her braids come down for the first time in a while. Now she didn't belonged to the Corporate world. Their world.

She threw a few things into a messenger bag, and headed back out the door. She had been living in the West 50's for so long, she forgot there was a world beyond the upscale of the Trump buildings.

Kristen hopped on the train that would take her to the place she used to call home. The place she used to belong.

The Village.

Anyone who was a freak, weirdo, musician, writer, or an outsider fit in the Village. Tattoo parlors lined the streets, like brownstone family houses. One after the other. St. Marks Hotel was right next to all kinds of wig, make up, clothing stores and everything else in between. It was hard not to get inspired walking through here. Kristen walked into one of the many stores she used to shop in, when she run into an old friend.

"Kristen?"

"Zip?"

""Kristen?"

"Zip?"

Zip was an artist. He started off with graffiti, but moved on to canvas. He was also her pot dealer for a time. He ended up having one of his pieces in an exhibition where a woman hired him to design murals. He moved out of the city when that happened, and they hadn't seen each other since.

"So how has life been treating you?"

"Oh man, Mrs. Drake is one of the coolest bosses I've ever had. I have more money than I know what to do with. I remember when I didn't have two nickels to rub together. My life is upside down now, man."

"That's awesome."

"What about you? What are you doing with yourself? Last time I saw you, you were working at T and V."

"Ha, I'm not working there anymore. I have an alright job, enough to get me by." Kristen couldn't bring herself to tell him she was a sell out. They had talked about those people, made fun of those people. Now that she was one of them, she didn't want him to dislike her.

"Well I'm glad you're doing good. Oh yeah, you remember Rita, my girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to ask her to marry me tonight, I'm on my way to pick up the ring."

Kristen congratulated him and they hugged. They waved goodbye as Zip ran out of the store. Kristen exhaled. Why couldn't she ever have meaningful relationships like that? Why did she always attract the rich, stick stuck up their ass, type of guys?

She finished shopping and went on her way.

Before she knew it, Kristen had spent 5 hours walking around. The sun was beginning to set and she was starving. As she started on her way back to the subway, she passed by her old building. The place she enjoyed a good ten year run in.

"What the hell?" Kristen decided to head over. She hadn't been here in a good 4 years. The building looked the same. Same black color, same weak looking fire escape, same stoup. She sat down and thought back to her time here.

All the friends she had, all the good times. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, catching the last few warm streaks of sunlight on her face. She zoned out until she heard a familiar voice.

"Sunshine?"

Kristen opened her eyes and came face to face with Jeff, groceries in hand. She nearly knocked him over trying to get up.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned, as if he had been stalking her and crossed over into her sacred place.

"I live here. What are YOU doing here?"

"I used to live here."

"Which Apartment?"

"3DD."

Jeff started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?"

"I live there now. If this isn't fate I don't know what is."

"It's a coincidence."

"Hey, why don't you come up?"

"No, that's ok." she said as she turned to leave. She already had enough of men trying to get into her pants for one day. She wasn't going to take it from him either.

"I'm not trying to get into you pants, I just don't my food to melt."

Kristen looked at him in surprise, how did he know what she was thinking?

"You coming?" he asked as he opened the gate.

'Just go, stupid.' her heart said. 'Just go.'

"Yeah." she grabbed one of his bags and held the door open.

"Thank you. By the way, I love the Smiths." Jeff said in reference to her shirt. He stopped at his mail box and fidgeted with the lock.

"You know, I am about to go up into your apartment and I don't even know your last name."

"I invited you into my apartment and I don't even know your FIRST name."

"Kristen. Your turn."

"It's on my box." he nodded to the mail box. She looked at the name tag.

'J. Buckley'

"Any relation to Tim Buckley?" Kristen jokingly scuffed.

Jeff's face winced at the mention of that name. The little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tightened and the vein on the right side of his head pulsated.

"Yeah…actually. He's…eh, WAS… my father."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: You Left Some Stars In My Belly

**Author**: MCMGM

**Characters**: Jeff Buckley, Kristen, various other.

**Rating**: M

**Content**: Language, mild violence, strong sexual content, drug use.

**Disclaimer**: Only own Kristen and any other fictional character. Everyone else owns themselves.

**(A/N)** Based in an AU.

Tim Buckley was a celebrated musician, who's fame came to rise in the late 60's and early 70's. He also wasn't much of a father to Jeff. He left town before Jeff was even born. Going on tours, making records and falling in and out of love with various women. So they didn't have much chance for a relationship. And Tim's death back when Jeff was only eight didn't help matters either.

Kristen hadn't realized how much Jeff looked like Tim until he confessed he was his father. The heavy brow, slender nose, deep clef in the chin. Jeff looked like a live action picture of Tim from his younger days. None the less, she felt bad for the comparison.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"You like Tim's music?" Jeff asked, refusing to call him 'Dad'.

"Yes…" she reluctantly replied, not wanting to offend him further by admitting to it.

"Cool."

Jeff slammed the mail box shut and made his way to the elevator. They rode up in an awkward silence. Kristen couldn't believe she was actually going to some strange guy's apartment. Even if it was HER apartment a few years ago, even if she was a fan of his absentee father's work, it was still risky. He could be crazy, God knows what he did to her apartment. He could have converted it into some type of torture chamber or something. Her crazed thoughts were interrupted by Jeff's soft voice.

"Well, welcome home." he chuckled as he pushed open the front door with his foot.

As they walked in her eyes darted all around, surveying the place. It was so different from when she had lived there. In place of blue paint was basic white. Where family photos used to hang, a poster of Jimi Hendrix. The living room was pretty bare, with a single couch and love seat sitting across from one another. A guitar and amp sat quietly in the corner near a shut off lamp. It screamed a single person lived there.

Despite what she imagined, there were no torture devices waiting for her or anyone else who ventured here.

Kristen helped Jeff take the groceries into the kitchen. She led the way, seeing as she knew where it was. They put everything up and then headed into the living room.

"I hope I didn't destroy your place too bad." Jeff laughed as he moved a pile of records off of the love seat.

"It isn't my place anymore, stopped being that when I moved so don't worry about it."

Jeff nodded.

An awkward silence filled the air around them again. Finally Jeff broke it.

"Um so…what do you want to do?"

Kristen shot him a look.

"I didn't mean that…I meant do you want to watch t.v or something."

Kristen just shrugged. Jeff smiled lightly and offered Kristen a seat. He grabbed the remote and flicked on the t.v.

"And in other news, local up and coming singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley has been gaining a bit of a fan base in New Yor…" Jeff flicked the channel as fast as he could, embarrassed Kristen had had seen him on MTV.

"Hey, I was looking at that."

"There are better things on." he said, flicking through the channels once more. Kristen could see that he was obviously upset, so she didn't push it.

"Hey Step by Step is on." Jeff finally settled on the sitcom starring Patrick Duffy and Susan Summers. They watched until the first commercial, when Jeff stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

"Hey do you want something to drink? Soda? Water?"

"Water is cool."

"Alright."

Jeff strolled off, giving Kristen an opportunity to steal glance at his record collection. She could see Miles Davis, Rush and Yes right at the top. Before she could probe any further, Jeff returned with her water.

"Thanks."

"No problem." he said as he sat back down on the couch. After Step by Step went off, he searched once more through his limited selection of channels. He was too poor to afford the luxury of cable.

"I'm sorry." Jeff said seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Kristen asked quizzically.

"For what that guy said to you the other night. Sin-e is usually a nice place, no one bothers anyone. Just sometimes they can get an asshole or two on Happy Hour nights. You happened to be there on a Happy Hour night."

"Well, I forgot all about that, but thanks." she lied.

Jeff nodded and continued, "If I wasn't such a pussy, I would have hit him for you. But I tend to bruise easily. And record companies don't want to hire bruised guys to be their poster boys." Jeff turned his head slowly in her direction. The cheesiest of smiles adorning his face.

Kristen burst out in laughter, covering her smile with her hand. Jeff joined in with her, shortly thereafter.

"That was the first time you've smiled since you've been here."

"I'm sorry. I have just been having a hard time at work. It's starting to spill over into my personality. You probably think I'm a bitch."

Jeff sat up, "I don't think that at all. Or else I wouldn't have invited you up here. I don't associate with bitches." Jeff lifted his chin in the air as if he were above everybody. Kristen stifled a second laugh. Jeff smiled at her affectionately from the couch.

"Um, listen. I'm doing another show at Sin-e tonight. Would you mind coming? And uh, STAYING this time?"

Kristen chuckled, "I would have to go home first."

"Come as you are."

Something about the way he said that made her tingle a bit on the inside. She shook it off and attempted to come up with an excuse to go home.

"After the day I've had, I need to shower and change. But I know where the place is. I can just meet you there."

"I'd prefer to pick you up, I'm not a fan of women walking by themselves late at night around here."

"You think I can't handle myself?"

"No, not at all. Just, I'd feel better if you'd let me get you."

"Well, alright. Uh, let me give you my address and directions." Kristen grabbed a piece of gum wrapper out of her pocket and scrolled down the information.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few hours."

"Yeah, I'll be there at 9 to get you."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

Jeff started to close the door as Kristen made her way to the elevator. But he stopped himself.

"Oh and take a cab home!" he yelled after her.

"I will!" she yelled back as she got into the elevator.

He closed the door and fell onto it in a huff, exhaling deeply. His stomach hurt, but it wasn't a ache from bad food or stress, but knots from butterflies.

"Oh man." Jeff pushed himself off of the door and walked into the bathroom to shower and get ready.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: You Left Some Stars In My Belly

**Author**: MCMGM

**Characters**: Jeff Buckley, Kristen, various other.

**Rating**: M

**Content**: Language, mild violence, strong sexual content, drug use.

**Disclaimer**: Only own Kristen and any other fictional character. Everyone else owns themselves.

**(A/N)** Based in an AU.

Kristen strolled up to her apartment door, whistling a formless ditty. She was in a great mood and didn't really understand why. Only thing she did was watch corny t.v shows and talk. But she felt like butterflies were going to come bursting out of her stomach at any moment.

Just as she was turning the key in the lock, a hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. In her fast New York City reflexes, Kristen jammed her keys between her knuckles, making a makeshift set of knives and pushed them toward the offender.

"Kristen!" yelled a familiar voice.

"Sandra? Oh what the FUCK, man? I almost took your eye out!" she relaxed her hand back to her side.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been calling you all afternoon."

"What? Why?" Kristen asked as she let them in.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Sandra continued as she followed Kristen in. "You were suppose to meet me after work."

Kristen put her things down, "I was?"

"Uh, YEAH. I called you last night and we agreed on it. I was worried because I never heard from you after that."

"Oh, it totally slipped my mind. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you owe me."

"Alright." Kristen said as she walked around the bedroom, picking out clothes and laying them on the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going out."

"Where?"

"Sin-e."

Sandra raised an eyebrow, "Sin-e? You told me you were never going there again after what happened last week. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Kristen looked at Sandra and exhaled. She sat down on the bed and motioned for Sandra to join her.

"You remember the guy who was playing that night?"

Sandra nodded.

"Well, I ran into him today, while I was in the Village. And we hung out and stuff at his place, and he invited me to a show he's doing there tonight."

A shit eating grin crept onto Sandra's narrow face, "How big was it?"

"What?"

"You heard me, how big was it?"

Kristen rolled her eyes and got up, "I JUST met him, I did NOT sleep with him. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, as you have the biggest mouth this side of David Johansen."

"You like him, don't you?"

"I don't KNOW him. I can't like someone I don't know."

"That isn't true or else you wouldn't have gone to his apartment. You must have liked SOMETHING."

"He lives in my old apartment, that's the ONLY reason I went. I wanted to see what he did with it."

"Did you get a chance to check out the bedroom?" Sandra smiled.

"I have to get ready." with that Kristen went into the bathroom.

~*~ 20 Minutes Later~*~

Kristen stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her voluptuous frame. She headed into the bedroom to get something, but realized it was in the living room.

"Hey, do you see my lotion in there?"

"Yeah, it's over here."

Kristen's gaze shot up and her eyes met Jeff's, lotion bottle in hand.

"I hope it's okay that I came a little early." he said meekly.

Kristen looked at Sandra, who was still wearing a shit eating grin. It had become obvious Sandra set that little 'chance' encounter up. Fire raged in Kristen's eyes as she clutched the towel as close to her skin as she could.

"It's cool. I'll just be a few minutes."

Kristen snatched the bottle out of Jeff's hand and ran - as calmly as she could - back into her bedroom and slammed the door.

After a few minutes, Kristen came out dressed, and still mad.

"So, you ready to go?" Jeff asked.

"I just need to put on some make up."

"You look better without it." he mused.

"Awww." Sandra cooed. Kristen shot her a dirty look.

"Let's just go." Kristen grabbed her bag and they were off.

~*~At Sin-e~*~

As the trio walked in, Kristen noticed Jeff grimace. Much like when she had mentioned his father earlier. Her eyes drifted toward where he was looking, and noticed a bunch of microphones set up where he was going to perform.

After helping Kristen and Sandra find a seat, Jeff went off toward the back of the café. They were lucky to find a seat, the place was getting fuller by the minute. Kristen could see a few men in suits sitting near the back. She found them out of place. After a while, Jeff came back out to a big applause. Kristen and Sandra joined in.

"Thanks." he said shyly.

Jeff launched into his usual opener, 'Be Your Husband'.

"Thank you so much." he said breathlessly afterward, picking up his guitar.

"Uh, I only played this like once here, some of you don't know it. Still working out the kinks and stuff. But uh, it's called 'Lover, You Should've Come Over.".

Kristen looked back toward the suits in the back of the café, they were taking notes. Intently watching Jeff. She knew that look, her bosses gave her that look when they expected her to fail at an assignment. She didn't like these men, whoever they were.

She looked back toward Jeff, he looked at her while he played, a heavy sigh leaving his throat. He looked at the floor and began to sing.

"Looking out the door I see the rain, fall upon the funeral mourners. Parading in a wake of sad relations as their shoes fill up with water. And maybe I'm too young to keep good love from going wrong. But tonight you're on my mind so, you never know."

Kristen felt an overwhelming sadness fill her body. This song was obviously about love. Possibly an abandoned one.

"When I'm broken down and hungry, for your love with no way to feed it. Where are you tonight, child? You know how much I need it."

Kristen's head swayed along, she understood. She related to what was being said. Those people in the back, taking notes instead of LISTENING could never know what real love and heartbreak was about.

Jeff's voice flew above the room as the song reached it's climax. Kristen could feel tears pour down her face, she couldn't stop it. As Jeff ended the song, he saw her crying and was about to come to her aid. But Kristen threw up a finger, letting him know she was alright.

His eyes asked if she was sure, and she nodded. Jeff winked back as an 'okay.'.

As the night wore on, Jeff exhibited a broad sense of humor. Cracking jokes in between songs, making funny voices and faces.

He randomly would start playing popular songs of the day. He would beat boxing while playing Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' while singing in a mock Qawwali voice. Much to the audience's delight.

"I'm a ridiculous person but seriously, I want to thank you for coming out and helping me get through my 'Café Days' selection." Kristen noticed he said it as if he were headed to bigger and better things.

A slight look of sadness came upon his face, like it was the end of an era or something. It confused Kristen, but she tried to look past it and enjoy the remainder of the show. Jeff continued playing his favorite songs and after Van Morrison's 'The Way Young Lovers Do.' he turned around to adjust something and bumped into the wall. The crowd clapped and laughed.

"This is Sin-e! Where am I going to go? Backstage?"

Sandra let out a huge laugh, Kristen just smiled.

"Of course if I DID like walk through the wall, I'd be like the best gig you've been to, right? 'Jeff Buckley walks through walls'!"

Sandra slapped Kristen on the back and laughed as loud as possible, like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

After a few hours, and very little breaks, Jeff finished his set. Everyone stood up and clapped, Jeff gave a quick bow and headed to Sandra and Kristen's table.

"So, was I alright?" he asked breathlessly.

"Alright? That was AMAZING!" they said in unison.

"Thanks." Jeff said in his usual shy tone. After a while Sandra excused herself and headed to the ladies room, leaving Jeff and Kristen to chat.

"I'm sorry." Jeff said to Kristen, much like he had done hours before in his apartment.

"For what?"

"For making you cry earlier. I didn't mean to do that."

"Oh, it's Okay. It's just that song hit close to home for me is all."

Before Jeff could say anything else, he felt someone hovering over them. Kristen looked up and came face to face with Todd. All of the color ran from her face.

"Hey Kristen. What are you doing here? I thought you had plans with your mother." he asked suspiciously.

"Uh, I did but she had to cancel last minute. She isn't feeling well."

"Well why didn't you call me?"

"Because she figured it was too late, and came to see me play instead." Jeff interjected.

"And you are…?" Todd asked in his snotty, yuppie tone.

Jeff scooted closer to Kristen and put his arm around her. He looked Todd dead in the eye and said;

"Her brother."

Kristen slowly turned her head toward Jeff, and looked at him like he was crazy. There was no way in hell Todd was going to believe this lanky, pale as a ghost, white kid was this black woman's relative. Let alone her brother.

"Brother?"

"Yeah. She's my Step-sister, but still my sister."

"You never said you had a brother." he eyed her.

"We recently found each other."

Todd looked at Kristen, waiting for confirmation.

"…Yeah. Recently." was all she could say.

"Yeah, well that's nice." he said, buying it for now. "I'm going to go, only came in here to see what the fuss was all about. Not much I see." Todd spat, looking in Jeff's direction.

"See you at the office tomorrow, sweetness."

"See you tomorrow, Todd."

With that, he left. Kristen exhaled and turned to Jeff.

"Why did you do that?"

"You didn't seem like you were too happy to see him. Figured I'd scare him off. But I'm not that intimidating, I guess. Who was that, anyway?"

"My boss." Kristen put her head in her hands.

"Oh, well, he's a jerk. I can tell."

"You don't know the half of it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: You Left Some Stars In My Belly

**Author**: MCMGM

**Characters**: Jeff Buckley, Kristen, various other.

**Rating**: M

**Content**: Language, mild violence, strong sexual content, drug use.

**Disclaimer**: Only own Kristen and any other fictional character. Everyone else owns themselves.

**(A/N)** Based in an AU.

"Uh, you guys, why the long faces?" Sandra asked as she returned to the table.

"Nothing. Just tired." Kristen responded. Jeff nodded.

"Well, that's cool. I'm gonna split."

"What, where are you going?"

"I've got a, uh, coffee date." Sandra nodded her head toward a head banging looking guy hanging out by the bar.

"Sandra?" Kristen started in, concern building.

"It's cool, I know him. We work together."

"Alright then, just be careful. Call me later."

"Yeah, yeah." Sandra said, already walking back to her date.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" Jeff asked.

"You're not tired of me yet?"

"Oh no." Jeff answered with a little smirk.

"Alright, well, I guess we can hang at my place for a bit."

"Cool." Jeff packed up his guitar and they headed out.

As Kristen tried to hail down a cab, a young woman with dark hair grabbed at Jeff.

"Rebecca?"

"I need to talk to you, Jeff."

"I can't…I'm with a friend…" he nodded toward Kristen.

"Is that the WHORE you left me for?" she raged with a drunken bark.

"Stop it."

"Answer me!"

Now people were starting to gather around them, and Kristen turned back to see what was going on.

"You're making a scene, STOP IT."

"Jeff, are you okay?" Kristen pushed her way through to aide him.

"It's fine…listen, I have to do something," he said, trying to keep Rebecca from failing down. "I'll see you later. I'll stop by tomorrow or something, okay?"

"Alright, if you're sure."

"Yeah, bye." he said, no longer paying attention to anything other than getting Rebecca home.

Kristen watched him until they turned a corner. She didn't know how to feel. What was that about? Who was that girl?

"It's none of my business." she turned back toward the street and flagged down a cab.

"I'm going to West 56th."

"Sure."

Kristen looked over at the corner as the car pulled off, as if Jeff would magically be there. She sighed as they drove on.

**~*~ The Next Day~*~**

Kristen tapped her foot against her desk over and over, in a rhythmic fashion. It took a minute for it to register that it was one of the songs Jeff played the night before. She stared off into space, letting the paperwork pile up on her desk.

"Are you okay?" Kammy asked as she walked by.

"Huh…what? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to get you some coffee or something?"

"No, no. I'm fine really," she looked up and smiled "But thanks for the offer."

"No problem. Just let me know if you need anything." Kammy walked off to attend to her own business.

It was almost time to head home, and most of the office was empty. Aside from Kammy and Kristen, Todd was still loitering around somewhere. Kristen didn't care as long as it wasn't anywhere near her. All day, she couldn't help but think of what had occurred last night, if Jeff was Okay. He seemed really different when that girl showed up. Distant, unfocused.

"Eh." Kristen tried not to think about it, it was none of her business. If he wanted to tell her he would. She packed up her stuff, deciding to finish her work when she returned after her week long vacation. She busted her ass and DESERVED everyday of that week. Plus that was a week of not seeing Todd, ANYBODY would appreciate that.

Kristen said her goodbyes to Kammy and the remaining employees. She made her way to the elevator. As she waited, an overhead light flicked on and off, like it was dying. Kristen shrugged it off and entered the elevator. As the doors closed, a hand shot through and re-opened them. Todd strolled into it.

"What a coincidence, me running into you."

"Yeah." she tried hard not to roll her eyes. The elevator light flickered like the hall light did moments before. Then elevator slowed down, making creaking noises.

"God, please, PLEASE no." Kristen pleaded silently.

Then, it came to a full on stop. And the main light flickered off.

"Please remain calm. We have suffered electrical failure in the…" a automated voice spoke from the intercom on the wall.

"Looks like we're stuck here for a few minutes." Todd said with a smirk. The emergency light glowed down on his face, making him look rather creepy.

"Yeah. It's probably best we conserve oxygen by not talking." she snapped, inching further away from him.

"Oh we don't need to talk for what I want to do." he moved in closer, pushing his body onto Kristen's.

"Todd, back off."

"Come on, nobody will know about it anyways." he kept pushing.

"Todd, stop it." he wasn't the type of man who heard that too often. Her resistance only turned him on more. He moved in and smelled her hair.

"Hmmm, you smell so good."

"Todd…stop…"

He reached for her breast.

"STOP IT!" Kristen kicked him in the knee.

"Owww!"

Just then the elevator started up again and they went down to level One. Kristen ran out faster than the doors could open.

"Just between you and me!" Todd called after her as he rubbed his knee. Kristen ran until she reached her door. Her hands trembled, making it hard for her to get the key in the lock. Finally she got it in, and rushed into the apartment, slamming the door behind her. She ran into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed. Tears poured down her face, like a dam had been broken.

What would have happened if she hadn't defended herself? Would Todd have raped her right there? What was going to happen because of what she did? Was she going to be fired?

Before she could analyze it anymore, there was a knock at her door. She REALLY wasn't in the mood for company, but it could be something important. She wiped away the tears and called out.

"Who is it?"

"Jeff."

Jeff? Oh yeah, she thought. He said he would come over today.

"Hold on a second!" she yelled, trying to hide her distress.

After regaining her composure, she opened up the door.

Jeff stood there smiling. Guitar strung over one shoulder, and a bottle of wine in his hand.

"I figured I'd bring you something, as a apology for having to leave last night." he held the bottle for her to take.

"Thanks."

Jeff looked at her face, he could see something was wrong.

"Are you okay? I mean if this is a bad time, I can just come back la…"

"No, no. It's fine. Please, come in." she moved so he could get by.

"Thanks."

"Did you have a show?"

"Huh?"

"I figured you had a show because of the guitar." she pointed at his shoulder.

"Oh no, I brought my acoustic so I could play something for you. Second part to the apology." he laughed.

She just smiled.

"Um, what's with the get up?" he asked, referring to her suit.

"I just got in from…work," she tried not to think about what had happened, if she did she was bound to cry and make a fool of herself.

"I didn't have a chance to change."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to show up so randomly. Just that…well, I just needed to get away from my place. Figured you'd been home, took a shot."

"It's okay, Jeff. Really it is. Do you mind if I go shower and change?"

"No, go ahead."

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I have cable too."

"CABLE?" he headed for her T.V. Kristen just smiled as she walked into the bedroom.

**~*~Some Time Later ~*~  
**  
Kristen came out of the bedroom, clean and refreshed. She swapped her grey suit for a pair of yoga pants, baby doll t-shirt and extra some soft socks. She let her hair down and disposed of her glasses for the evening.

"Ohhh, you smell nice." Jeff smiled from his seat on her couch.

"Thank you, vanilla body scrub. It works wonders. I see you found something to watch."

"Not really, just surfing."

"Cool." she plopped down next to him.

"I DID raid your fridge, but there wasn't much in there."

"Oh yeah, I didn't go shopping this week. I've been so busy. I can go tomorrow though, as of today, I am on a week long vacation."

"Oh nice. Going anywhere special?"

"No, just going to relax here."

"Ahh."

"Well, since I have no food, we'll have to order something. Pizza good for you?"

"Yes, that's fine. And I'm paying for it."

"You don't have to do that."

"I insist."

"Okay, okay. I'll be right back." Kristen headed for the kitchen to grab the phone.

**~*~15 Minutes Later~*~**

"This is the best pizza I've ever had." Jeff said as he munched.

"That restaurant is pretty good. But, you didn't have to pay."

"It was the least I could do after last night."

"What was that about anyway?" Kristen asked, breaking her own rule of waiting until he felt like telling her.

Jeff exhaled. "That girl, was my girlfriend. EX girlfriend. We broke up recently, and she's been taking it hard. She thinks it was because of another girl, but it wasn't. I'm at a important crossroad in my life with my music, and I can't afford to be distracted. It takes a lot of work to be in a relationship and I don't think I can deal with both things right now. I know it sounds horrible for me to say that, but it's how I feel."

"It's not horrible. I know what you mean. I'm kinda like that with my job. I can't stand what I do, but I'm a perfectionist."

Jeff nodded, then cleared his throat. "Um, well, I kinda had a question. I mean you can say no, of course. But um, do you think I can spend the night here? I wouldn't ask, but Rebecca is staying at my place, trying to get over the hang over. And I really just don't want to be there tonight."

"Sure. You can stay as long as you need."

He smiled. "Thank you."

"Do you have clothes with you?"

"Yeah," he pulled open his guitar case. He had night clothes sitting on top of the guitar. "I brought some, just in case you said yes. Also, brought a little gift. Third part of the apology." he gave a big cheesy grin as he pulled out a baggie containing some pot.

Kristen just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Well, it's really early and since you have nowhere to go, what are we going to do all night?" Jeff asked.

"We'll figure something out."


End file.
